Paddy Pimblett revels in UFC rival’s loss – seven days after own brutal defeat

Hooker was stopped by Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 325, a week after ‘Paddy The Baddy’ was beaten by Justin Gaethje

Paddy Pimblett was seemingly delighted by Dan Hooker’s defeat at UFC 325, as the New Zealand fighter was beaten by Benoit Saint-Denis on Saturday.

Just two months after being stopped by Arman Tsarukyan’s brutal ground and pound, Hooker lost to Saint-Denis by the same means, in a deflating scene for the crowd in Sydney, Australia.

The result followed Pimblett’s decision loss to Justin Gaethje seven days prior, as “Paddy The Baddy” failed to win the interim lightweight title. It also followed a vulgar back and forth between Pimblett and divisional rival Hooker, in which distasteful comments about family and friends were made.

“Nice to see Dan get TKOed after the s*** he was chatting,” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. “He probably enjoyed me losing last week. That was probably a generational hate watch for him.

“I never got finished, though [...] Hooker, unlucky, mate.”

“I really like Benoit Saint-Denis,” the Liverpudlian added. “I think he’s a proper nice fella, and I like his fighting style. He comes to bang, [I] proper like Saint-Denis.

Benoit Saint-Denis sealed a TKO win over Dan Hooker (Getty Images)

Hooker after his loss to Saint-Denis in Sydney, Australia (Getty)

“I hope he does well, but obviously if he’s next for me, he’s getting finished.”

Hooker, for his part, seemed to shrug off his latest defeat. He wrote on Instagram, “Life is for living,” while sharing a photo of himself with a friend, followed by a video of a Rolex watch.

The UFC’s rankings will be updated on Tuesday, with No 8 Saint-Denis likely to leapfrog fifth-ranked Pimblett and sixth-ranked Hooker.

The Frenchman’s win over Hooker extended his win streak to four, with all of those victories coming via stoppage and dating back to May 2025.

Paddy Pimblett after his title-fight loss to Justin Gaethje (Getty Images)

As such, “BSD” is closing in on a title shot, while Pimblett and Hooker’s futures are less clear. However, a showdown between the pair could do good business for the UFC.

Pimblett’s one-sided loss to Gaethje marked his first defeat in the UFC, while Hooker’s loss on Saturday saw his UFC record drop to 14-10.